Tethered ball batting practice device

ABSTRACT

An athletic improvement device providing activity for a pair of players: one batter and one pitcher. The ball is &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;pitched&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; to the batter by the pitcher rotating the device around his head. A perforated ball is secured to one end of a tether line, and the opposite end of the tether line is spring-attached to a pivoting member attached to a wooden insert in a plastic handgrip.

United States Patent [1 1 Fox et a1.

[451 Sept. 23, 1975 1 TETHERED BALL BATTING PRACTICE DEVICE [76]Inventors: Daniel W. Fox, 202 E. Shawn,

Phoenix, Ariz. 85022; Robert E. Fox, 3679 W. Dahlia Dr., Phoenix. Ariz.85029; Anthony E. Deprima, 3443 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, Ariz. 85012[22] Filed: June 11, 1974 [2]] Appl. No.1 478,774

[52] US. Cl. 273/26 E; 273/95 A [51] Int. Cl. A63B 69/40 [58] Field ofSearch 273/26 E, 95 A, 184 B, 273/185 C, 208,197 R, 58 C, 58 B, 58 D;119/118-122 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,465,806 8/1923Chester 119/121 2.496.795 2/1950 Johnson..... 273/95 A 2.765.170 10/1956Brown 273/26 E 2,929,632 3/1960 Moffatt 273/200 R 2,942,883 6/1960 Moore273/26 E 3 051,491 8/1962 Cabot 273/200 R 3,186,711 6/1965 Morrow.....273/95 A 3.601.398 8/1971 Brochman.. 273/95 A 3.626.502 12/1971 Wei]273/26 E 3,637,209 1/1972 Rauth.. 273/26 E 3,764,140 10/1973 Lotfy273/58 C FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATlONS 329,184 5/1930 United Kingdom273/58 C Primary E.\'aminerRichard C. Pinkham Assistant E.\'aminerT.Brown Attorney, Agent, or FirmClarcnce A. O'Brien; Harvey B. Jacobson[57] ABSTRACT An athletic improvement device providing activity for apair of players: one batter and one pitcher. The ball is pitched to thebatter by the pitcher rotating the device around his head. A perforatedball is secured to one end of a tether line, and the opposite end of thetether line is spring-attached to a pivoting member attached to a woodeninsert in a plastic handgrip.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 1 TETHERED BALL BATTING PRACTICE DEVICEFIELD OF THE INVENTION AND" SUMMARY OF THE PRIORAR'I" Known forms ofbatting practice devices are evidenced by the following US patentsi Papp(U'.S1 Pat.

No. 3,351,343, issued Nov. 7,1967) showing anchor- I SUMMARY OF THEINVENTION Among the objects and advantages of our invention are toprovide a batting practice device that is economical to construct andassemble, yet sufficiently rugged and having easily replaceable partsfor continued usage in batting practice.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of twoathletes using the device.

FIG. 2 is a similar view but on an enlarged scale.

FIG. 3 is an exploded, partly sectional view detailing the connectionsfor the various parts of the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The overall device is designatedby reference numeral in each of the views. The handle means 12 includesa hollow, plastic, generally cylindrical handgrip member 14 havingfinger-gripping portions and receiving a solid wooden insert 16 in theform of a dowel that fits securely within and extends slightly beyondthe handgrip member 14.

Screw means 18 passes through apertures 2020 in the ends of a strapmeans 22 that holds a portion of the loop 24. The strap means 22 mayreadily slip or slide on the top of the wooden insert 16, however,washer means (not illustrated) may be used to further provide slippageof the strap means about the screw 18 as a center and the wood screw 18is not tightened completely thus enabling swivel movement of the strap22 around the screw. I

A generally helically-shaped spring means 26 has loop portions 28-28 ateach end, one connected to the loop 24, and one connected to a loopedend portion 30 of elongated flexible tethering means 32. A hollowperforated ball means 34 of plastic material and generally rigid inconstruction has a double-grommet 36 fitted within one of theperforations of the ball 34. The double-grommet has a through-hole 38for receiving the other end of the elongated tethering means 32therethrough.

The tip 40 of the tethering means 32 inside the hollow perforated ball34 is expanded to retain the tip of the tethering means through thegrommet within the hollow interior of the ball. The end may be expanded2 into a lump by applying heat to the plastic tethering line 3 2 whichis .constructed of woven or braided nylon which is somewhat resilient,thus further cushioning anyshock which may occur when :the batter hitsthe ball." E

ln'useg an'd as illustrated in'FIG. 1, the pitcher rotatestheperforated'b'all, at-the'end of the tethering means, around the topof h'is'head, and the batter swings at the perforated ball as it crossesthe plate. When the ball is hit by the batter, the reverse movement ofthe tethering means, the spring means and resiliency of the tetheringmeans reduces the shock to the arm and hand of the pitcher. Similarly,by combining arm and wrist motions, while rotating the ball around hishead, the pitcher can cause the ball to curve, dip, etc., while it is inmotion.

The foregoing is consdiered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A batting practice device comprising a handle, an elongated flexibleline connected to the handle and a ball connected to the end of theflexible line remote from the handle whereby the ball and flexible linemay be swung in a circular path about the handle so that the ball maypass over a plate so that a batter may practice swinging a bat at theball as it passes over the plate, said ball being in the form of ahollow, substantially rigid plastic member having a plurality of holestherein, said handle being in the form of a generally cylindricalhandgrip having finger-receiving recesses therein, a rigid dowel fixedlydisposed in the handgrip and projecting axially from one end thereof andterminating in substantially a flat end with the dowel being constructedof wood, said flexible line being constructed of plastic material andhaving a closed loop on the end thereof adjacent the handle, a coilspring having a loop at each end thereof with the loop on one end of thespring being engaged in the loop on the line, a metal D- shaped ringengaged with the loop on the other end of the spring, a metal strapengaged with the D-shaped ring and including overlapping end portionsdisposed against the flat end of the dowel, a screw extending throughthe overlapping ends of the strap and into the end of the dowel with thehead of the screw spaced from the dowel slightly more than the combinedthickness of the ends of the strap thereby enabling the strap to swivelabout the axis of the screw, said D-shaped ring being pivotally receivedin the central portion of the strap with the central portion of thestrap being formed into an offset loop receiving the straight portion ofthe D-shaped ring to enable the D-shaped ring to pivot about an axisgenerally tangential to the periphery of the end edge of the dowel, theend of the flexible line remote from the handle extending through aperforation in the ball for connection therewith, said coil spring isprovided for cushioning forces exerted on the ball when the batterstrikes the same with the swivel defined by the screw and the pivot axisdefined by the D- shaped ring and the connection between the D-shapedring and the spring as well as the connection between the spring and theloop on the end of the line enabling t 25 The structure as defined inclaim 1 wherein the end of the flexible line extending through aperforation includes an enlargement thereon for anchoring the lineinteriorly of the ball. said line including a grommet thereon engaged bythe enlargement on the line and engaging the ball to prevent the linefrom being pulled outwardly through the perforation in the ball.

1. A batting practice device comprising a handle, an elongated flexibleline connected to the handle and a ball connected to the end of theflexible line remote from the handle whereby the ball and flexible linemay be swung in a circular path about the handle so that the ball maypass over a plate so that a batter may practice swinging a bat at theball as it passes over the plate, said ball being in the form of ahollow, substantially rigid plastic member having a plurality of holestherein, said handle being in the form of a generally cylindricalhandgrip having finger-receiving recesses therein, a rigid dowel fixedlydisposed in the handgrip and projecting axially from one end thereof andterminating in substantially a flat end with the dowel being constructedof wood, said flexible line being constructed of plastic material andhaving a closed loop on the end thereof adjacent the handle, a coilspring having a loop at each end thereof with the loop on one end of thespring being engaged in the loop on the line, a metal D-shaped ringengaged with the loop on the other end of the spring, a metal strapengaged with the D-shaped ring and including overlapping end portionsdisposed against the flat end of the dowel, a screw extending throughthe overlapping ends of the strap and into the end of the dowel with thehead of the screw spaced from the dowel slightly more than the combinedthickness of the ends of the strap thereby enabling the strap to swivelabout the axis of the screw, said D-shaped ring being pivotally receivedin the central portion of the strap with the central portion of thestrap being formed into an offset loop receiving the straight portion ofthe D-shaped ring to enable the D-shaped ring to pivot about an axisgenerally tangential to the periphery of the end edge of the dowel, theend of the flexible line remote from the handle extending through aperforation in the ball for connection therewith, said coil spring isprovided for cushioning forces exerted on the ball when the batterstrikes the same with the swivel defined by the screw and the pivot axisdefined by the Dshaped ring and the connection between the D-shaped ringand the spring as well as the connection between the spring and the loopon the end of the line enabling angular displacement of tHe line andball thereon in any direction in relation to the handle thereby enablingthe handgrip and dowel therein to be disposed substantially in avertical direction and the flexible line and ball to move in asubstantially horizontal path with the path of movement of the ballbeing varied by manipulative movement of the handle during manualmovement thereof which causes the swinging movement of the ball andline.
 2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the end of theflexible line extending through a perforation includes an enlargementthereon for anchoring the line interiorly of the ball, said lineincluding a grommet thereon engaged by the enlargement on the line andengaging the ball to prevent the line from being pulled outwardlythrough the perforation in the ball.